Major bummer. He did the effects for the greatest horror/thriller movie of all time, "The Thing". In a skeptical turn, he was misused in the Fox TV show "Alien Autopsy", saying he didn’t know how they could have faked it. However, later it came out that his real opinion was "Do I think it’s a hoax? Absolutely." My kinda guy.

He won Oscars for "Terminator 2", "Aliens", and "Jurassic Park". Even if you don’t know his name or his face, you know his work — which is extensive and amazing. He was one of the greatest entertainers behind the camera of all time.

The man was a major innovator. He, along with Rick Baker and Rob Bottin (who was responsible for the bulk of “The Thing”… Stan subcontracted the kennel dog-thing sequence.) pretty much pushed makeup and animatronics to it’s current state of sophistication.

Above and beyond that, the guy built an effects studio that allowed scores of up and comers a chance to shine.

My favorite of Stans work? No, not the dinos from the Jurrassic Park films… No, not Pumpkinhead… No, not the Terminator exoskeletons…

… the Thermians, from “Galaxy Quest.” Perhaps some of the most believeable non-humanoid aliens to be seen in the movies, ever! As my wife calls them, “cuddly Culthulus.” LOL I still can’t watch the “transporter scene” without marvelling at them… and laughing my butt off.

I know his name and face.
Once I had a meeting with an old client of our company that was a spitting image of Stan Winston. I was new in the branch and hadn’t met him before and I didn’t catch his name, probably because he looked so much like Winston. When I got back to the office I Googled a photo of Stan Winston and asked one of the other guys who he was and got the name of our client that way for my report.

Luckily Richard Taylor is around to carry the torch. That Lucas guy is no slouch come to think of it. I’ll always remember seeing the astroid belt sequence from Star Wars when I was 11 or so…Those sounds….Those manouvers…I was dazed walking out of the cinema into the light of day.

Sad indeed. He left behind the legacy of an enormous and impressive body of work – one that will be appreciated for a long time. He was a pioneer and, like Ray Harryhausen before him, an innovator of processes that others will continue to use and develop. He will be missed.

My daughter Victoria & I met Stan at the Bayly Art Museum at UVa 8 or so years ago when he gave a talk about special effects (in association with the Virginia Film Festival). There were only about 25 of us there at the talk. Stan was there with a full-sized velociraptor model, Terminator head and other goodies. Unforgettable! Vick was 6 years old or so at the time.

Master of animatronics, he was. Have to agree with Joe Meils that his work on Galaxy Quest was pretty impressive (although I thought the film could have been better). The lip-synch on the bad guys in that one were spot-on. Makes me wonder why Lucas didn’t hire him for the new Star Wars films, because while the rest of the effects were great, the animatronics were a bit of a let-down. One of my favourite FX dudes, Stan.

If you buy the DVD of The Thing there is an amazing 2 hour long documentary about the making of the film, and has a great interview with Stan Winston, and even he says something like “I don’t want to take any thing away from Rob, this is HIS movie!”

I have two kids under the age of twelve who know his name and face. When I broke the news to them, they both reacted as if the magical world of imagination had ceased to exist.

So, I loaded up his filmography on IMDB so they could get a sense of the movies they’ve seen but didn’t know he was involved with.

With each one that they recognized, they would issue a screech. Once they saw JP IV, I had to stop and send them out of the room lest my ears begin to bleed.

My youngest recently received the Jurassic Park box set for his birthday and both children have thoroughly enjoyed the “making of” features so Stan is coincidentally fresh in their minds. Their grief is genuine as is their gratitude.

To all of us who are feeling the loss, my sincerest condolences and appreciation not only to those close to Stan but also to those who stand in awe of the art he produced.

Generations of artists are inspired by his work. That is one magnificent legacy.

sirjonsnow:
This is the quote of Brando’s that I was referring to:
“You were a real dickhead, Stan…”
Was he hard to work for? A martinette? A PITA/perfectionist? Did he do some sort of, uh, prosthetic Priapus headwear? :snicker:

I’m not at all confused about which film version of “The Thing” he worked on, really. Edward asked a question about that and it was answered quickly by John
Rich

Sanity says: “damn, why do I only keep learning about great people like him after they die?”

Because most of the real talent in making a movie is behind the camera and known only to fans. The actors they call “talent” are usually a joke and suitable only as fodder for tabloids and they disintegrate in public.

At least you only have to mourn as a spectator. Consider my situation the past six years I’ve been working on “The Saucer Fleet.” I started writing it in 2002 and the subjects have been shuffling off this mortal coil at a regular pace. Going in chapter order, here’s who’s left us:

The Day the Earth Stood Still – Robert Wise (director)

War of the Worlds – Al Nozaki (art director, designer of the war machines) and Les Tremayne (General Mann).